IRVINE, Calif. – Concordia University Irvine is a finalist for the NCAA Division II Award of Excellence, which highlights outstanding community service work by college campuses across the country.

CUI's women's water polo team and the athletic department's SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) created Concordia Cares to assist recovery efforts during the Los Angeles wildfires in January of 2025.  In a span of one week, the entire campus collected hundreds of boxes of essentials and assembled over 200 care packages, raising additional funds for recovery efforts.

"Our SAAC representative Sofia Dominguez and the captains came up with the idea, and originally it started as what can our team do to help," said CUI head women's water polo coach Casey Greenawalt. "Sofia spoke with the other SAAC members and eventually we opened it up to the entire student body and community, so we could get all the teams and the entire campus involved."
 
Concordia Cares was spearheaded by SAAC leaders and the women's water polo team, but there were also members from all across campus involved including athletics, admissions and campus safety. 
 
After a week of collecting and sorting donations, Concordia was able to ultimately fill two vans with water, food supplies, clothing and care packages. The vans were driven to Malibu and Altadena to assist those in need. Donations were delivered to pop-up sites, including Livingway Community Church and the Red Cross, with support from partners like U-Haul for storage.
 
"It was really encouraging to see people from all across campus and even the local Irvine community, working side by side with a shared purpose," said CUI Assistant Athletic Director Glory Fung. "It reminded me that when everyone brings their unique strengths together, the impact is greater. Seeing that unity in action on our campus was inspiring and meaningful. One of the core convictions of Concordia University Irvine is to be Courageously Loving. What better way to show our love for others than to see a need and go meet it."

"I think the biggest thing is the Concordia culture," added Greenawalt. "And it's not just one team but our entire campus. Jesus served us, we can serve others and this was one way to help do that. When someone in our community is hurting, the least we can do is to pray for them. This was taking it a step further with action and getting more people involved so we can help those in need with some tangible items."
 
Division II named 26 schools and one conference as finalists for the 2026 Award of Excellence. This award highlights initiatives that exemplify the Division II philosophy of community engagement and student-athlete leadership. 

The overall finalists were chosen by a committee of athletics administrators and the Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, with the SAAC members ultimately selecting the top three finalists. Those honorees, including the winner, will be announced at the Division II business session this month at the 2026 NCAA Convention in the Washington, D.C., area. 

Each finalist will receive $750. The winner will receive $3,000, with the second-place finisher getting $1,750 and the third-place finisher awarded $1,500. All prize money is intended to be used for future SAAC programming or community engagement events. 

"Congratulations to the Concordia University Irvine athletic department and its student-athletes on being honored as a finalist for the NCAA Award of Excellence," said Pacific West Conference Commissioner Brad Jones. "This honor reflects their outstanding commitment to community service while continuing to excel academically and athletically. We are grateful for the positive impact PacWest Conference student-athletes make in their communities across the conference."

Most Concordia teams compete as members of the PacWest, but a select few belong to other conferences due to the nature of their sport. For example, the women's water polo team is a new member of the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA), joining the Concordia men's water polo team as members of that league. The CUI men recently were crowned WWPA Champions and advanced to the program's first NCAA Tournament in school history.

CLICK HERE for a Full List of all the Finalists